February 7, 2018 Chat : Let's Talk- Patient / Physician Communication

An important part of the patient-physician relationship is communication. This month we are holding our chat a week early on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 (9pm ET | 8pm CT | 6pm PT) and our February topic is Let's Talk - Patient / Physician Communication. 

Evidence shows that better communication of health care information leads to better outcomes for patients in a number of different ways. We also know that communication related to cancer has its own set of challenges. Patients have said that hearing the words, "You have cancer", impacts them in a way in which they don't hear what their physician says next. Patients are processing those words and experiencing many different emotions. Oncologists while sharing a cancer diagnosis with a patient and their family are also challenged to provide not only scientific information but support. At diagnosis, while discussing treatments, in addressing survivorship issues and end of life care, communication is a key part of the patient and clinician relationship.

Recently, ASCO (The American Society of Clinical Oncology) took on the task of developing the Patient Communication:ASCO Consensus Guideline. An expert panel was assembled to answer the question, What communication skills and tasks can clinicians use to optimize the patient-clinician relationship, patient and clinician well-being and family well-being?. We are pleased to be joined this month by Timothy Gilligan, MD (@TimGilliganMD) Co-chair of the ASCO panel and Kari Bohlke (@karibohlke), ASCO staff member to discuss the Guideline and cancer-care communications.

Below are the questions we will ask during our chat:

T1: What shifts over time have you seen in communication between patients and physicians? What seems better? What seems worse?

T2: What does "good communication" between patient and physician look like for you?

T3: What do you wish more doctors would do when it comes to communication? / What do you wish more patients would do when it comes to communication?

T4: What prompted @ASCO to produce the communication guideline as part of its Supportive Care and Treatment Related Issues guidelines? What are the key points?

T5: Why was it important to include family involvement as part of the Patient-Clinician Communication guideline?

T6: Hope and empathy are incorporated into the Patient-Clinician Communication guideline. What is it important for patients and physicians to consider when it comes to these concepts?

T7: How can both patients and physicians prepare for visits and lay the groundwork for good communication? What have you found helpful to get answers and keep everyone informed and connected between visits? 

Our recommended readings for this chat are the ASCO Guideline which can be found at:
http://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.2017.75.2311
and the American Cancer Society page The Doctor Patient Relationship:
https://www.cancer.org/treatment/understanding-your-diagnosis/talking-about-cancer/the-doctor-patient-relationship.html

We look forward to having you join us on February 7th for this very important discussion.

Dee and Christina
#gyncsm Co-founders